Valance



B. F. STENZ Aug. 31, 1948.

VALANCE Filed Sept. 7, 1944 4 INVENTOR 50v 0 A'Srzwz fi-v ATTORNEY n R@m Patented Aug. 31, 1948 .VA-I'IANCE Bernard :EaStenz; New-York; 2.

Application September 7, 1944,") Serial, No. 55310108! "I 'hisinvention-=relates to" valances for the dec= oration of the; innerframes-'"of windowe in living rooms-;-= club ='rooms;-= restaurants andinterlors-in generals Amongtlie obj (acts I of the present invention it5 is almed to provide an improved valanee "whiehwis= adj ustabl-efor-diift'arent widths" of windows and at the same time readilyattachable ih plaoe liy the ordinary interior: :d'ecorator; housekeeperor thwlikey I therebyr disposing-"f the services-" of a skilled mechanieor carpenter as is frequently necessary" when-y-installing the 1-conventionalival ancestoday extensivelyusedl Ifizi s sti-llanotherwobject of thle present driven"- tloniitow-provlde v an improvedvalance which: is"- n'otwonly simple: tdrinstall; but whicl'r is.:inexnen- I siveato: manufacture, I maintaining t'o' -a mini mum: thehusezo-fi scr called'i essentlalsi for warfare; wit-houtr-timanwwamdetracting .fromr'the orna=- mental-?efieettdesir ed'; and: on: thecontrary OOH-r 20 dllC'iVBl-f.b0f:th8 production of an: exceedingly 111xI uri-antiandmagniflcent effect;-

I Iti is: stillianother: objectf. of the presenttinvena tiomtoaprovlde:antimprovedzmethodnfor produceing aim-ornamentalpanel;suitable":fonuusea-azseonem on-more-of thecpanels of::awa-lance.-.

r'Iillesewandzother. f eatures i capabilitiestzandxade' vantagesaoftthe. invention rwilluappear zfronmthea: subjoinedidetai-lrdescrlptionrofa one 51280111038131? bodiment ithereofnillustrated[inthe accom -pamy-' ingadrawingsrin-iwhich Eigureiljsaqfronv'elevatiomof'. avalancermade; I aeeondingtotherpresentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a planviewof thesame'; Fig. -3:ls; .aasectienxon the: linee34+3 Of?'F1g'L1-r&:f1.

Fig; i-issai fragmentallenlarged perspective loft: adetailoi-thewalancez;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentaienlarged;persmctiveeof; another detail of thevalance.

,ls'fig.,'7. is-aa. frontperspective slightlyenlargedofethecentenpaneltot thevalancei.

i Fig, 8t;is.;a dream perspective slightly-- enlar ed,- otthe center.panelshown ln Fig; 7.

Fig.1.) ,isiannenlarged fragmental-section aofithe centenpa nelt,

.Imthaembodiment shown, .thereqis {illustrated atvalance' consistingmainl oiutwo.endrpieceseor. panels-I andj,twotsidetpieces .or panelsand; and,;a center piece or. panel i 5. Themend 'pieces I and 2'andmsidesnieces i3; andJI;are.prefrab1y composed of, ancompositionrboard.such as card boardLExcellnti results...have been. achieved when thecardboard used is ofuthe type soldmnder I the" name fMead 'CmestnutBoardifhaving ,ra. thickness'ofi" abOut" 0ne'-' eightHiHjch:'I'liisbbard? was selcted' in part for-the reason-that a*smooth*-- edgefinish couldih'e obtained suitable-for receiw' I blue; but "obviouslyany other'col'ormay be'-us'ed'-" without departing from the generalspirit of the I invention;

-Still" furthermore; lmorder to" simulate atex attaehed theretoedecorated sheet of paper Ti Eircellent results have-been achieved' whenthe paper-*s'eleeted ion-the covering "I wa's -Moistrite ofiset -paperrAfter the paper had been so 1 se'- the 'panels are subjected to anembossihgproeesss "Excellent results have-b een'. achieved whenembossing-' effect i's produced by a conventional large sheridanembossing press',- asan instance a -No Sheridan=embossing press; Theconven tional process includes producing a male and re male dieconformed: to the design on the paper. and aiterralining 'the dies in"the press with the design :onfith'e; paper, then to subject the paper"?1 andiicardboard supportito there'quired;embossing 1pressuresibya-causingtrthe twc'tdiesato impin'geain panelsz'zl 2;,139and 24 in composition; r, Thevedgesz I 01!: 0st:- the: pboardsiufiudandr9: also are; ;;preferablyr stained: withia. t1waterproof" lacquerz": Thesouter board 9: preferablyehas r attached thereto; a: deco; rativenaneracovering: I I sucht as the; coveringil:

In -actual.apractice-rther-designz of thei center piecee: 5 .(anduside:pieces Brandi-14*" will preferably I match asrillustratedzandatherboard9 :and' paper: cover; mg I I wilribezsubiected-rto thezsamel embossings-1 two; boardss- 8-and1 9 are. spaced- .from i one 1 anothen bythestrips: I ZI-and I 3 .-.to form a qgroclzet. I I." The exposed t edgesof. the istripsil 2 Landd 3,

to promote thei ensemble. decorativeefiect vdeesired, preferably arestained thessamelcolor. as I the-edgesio-f theboards78andi5; In'thepresent instance; the outer-edgesofthe stripsil 2, and! 3 all-me wlththeouter adjacent edges of the-boards 8 and 9, while the inner edges I andI6 shown in dotted lines in Fig. I are substantially parallel to oneanother and spaced from one another a distance just suficient to clearthe edges of the inner ends of the side pieces 3 and 4, see Figure 1.The side pieces 3 and 4 have their inner ends slidably mounted in thepocket I4 to afford adjustment for the length of the valance effectivelto correspond to the slight variations between different windows. Tofacilitate this slidable association, the thickness of the strips I2 andI3 approximate the thickness of the panels 3 and 4, and in some casesare slightly thicker to facilitate the slidable association.

The lower edges of the panels 3, 4 and 5 may depart from straight linesand assume various decorative curved lines of which the embodiment inFigure 1 is an example.

The panels I, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in weight, composition and size areconformed to cooperate with the means now to be described to facilitateasembling the panels as a valance and in turn to facilitate securing thevalance in place on the frame of a window or interior of a room.

As an instance, a bracket I1, preferably U -shaped as shown in Fig. 3,and composed of stainless steel one-sixteenth inch in thickness,approximately one and one-half inches wide, can be used to advantage.Excellent results have been achieved when the leg. I8 secured to thewall I9 is about two inches long, the intermediate web 29 is about fourand one-half inches long and the leg 2| is about one and one-half incheslong. The leg 2| as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is slid into the pocket 22formed by the intermediate section 23 pressed outwardly from the strip24. This strip 24 is preferably composed of Riegel tag stock, or bristolboard having a thickness approximating one-thirty-second of an inch toone-sixteenth of an inch, and sufficiently springy so that its endsections 25 and 26 will have a bracing effect on the rear face of theboard 8 to obstruct warping. This strip 24 may conveniently be securedto the board 8 by the staples 21, two along each edge of theintermediate extended section 23, as shown in Fig. 8.

For securing the edges of the end panels I and 2 in place, there areprovided in the first place the brackets 28, 29 composed of any suitablerigid material such as sheet metal or a plastic such as Vinylite.

The end brackets 28 and 29, when composed of Vinylite or Lucite arepreferably about onesixteenth inch in thickness having a base 30, seeFig. 5, with openings3| and 32 at the ends thereof to receive suitablesecuring means such as nails or screws, with two outwardly extendingjaws or flanges 33 and 34 flaring toward one another in their outwardextent. When secured against the wall I9, the lower securing means, suchas a screw or nail, preferably has a projection 35 formed thereon, sothat the lower edge of the panel I or 2 may rest upon the same forsupport. Ordinarily, however, the projection 35 merely serves as aprecautionary measure supplementing the means now to be described.

Preferably the main reliance for support is placed upon frictionalengagement between the edges of the panels I and 2 and the jaws 33 and34 of the brackets 28 and 29. To maximize the frictional grip, affordedby their embossed faces, the inner edges of the panels I and 2, as shownby the shading 36, are crimped. The outer edges of the panels I, 2, 3and 4, supplementing their embossed faces, are similarly crimped, seethe shading 31 and 38 in Fig. 6. The adjacent crimped edges of thepanels I and 3 as one set, and 2 and 4 as the other set, are fitted inthe mouths 39 and 40 formed by the pairs of jaws of each angular bracket4|, the pairs of jaws of the brackets 4| extending at right angles toone another in the present instance so as to receive the outer ends ofthe panels I and 2 disposed at right angles to the panels 3 and 4, andalso to receive the outer ends of the panels 3 and 4 as shown in Fig. 2.

The brackets 4! are also preferably composed of some suitable rigidmaterial such as sheet metal, Vinylite or Lucite. When composed of-Vinylite, here too preferably the thickness of the jaws forming themouths 39 and it] approximate o-ne-sixteenth inch.

The edges Ill of the boards 8, 9 and strips I2 and I3 are portrayed asblue in Fig. 7, but obviously any other colormay be used withoutdeparting from the general spirit of the invention. When the edges I!)of the center piece 5 are so stained, preferably the edges of the panelsI, 2, 3 and 4 are similarly stained in a col-or to correspond to theolor scheme of the ornamental designon the paper facing or covering 1 ofthe several panels.

In .order to facilitate an under-standing of the ornamental effectproduced by the valance made according to this invention, the method ofproducing the ensemble effect will now be described: initially the papercovering, such as the paper covering II, is embossed with a textileweave impression to simulate a textile surface, thereupon the design,such as flowers and petals or some artistic geometric design or the likein colors is printed on the paper, preserving the textile surface effectnot only in the background, but also in the floral or geometric design,thereupon the paper II is mounted or secured to a cardboard support suchas the board 9, and thereupon the cardboard support with the paper II isagain subjected to an embossing process in which case not only the paperbut also the cardboard is embossed, a female and male die being used oneon one surface, and the other against the other surface, to produce thedesign in relief, here caution being exercized to emphasize the edges oroutlines of the flowers and petals of the design or outlines or edges ofthe geometric figure constituting the design, so that the textilesurface effect may still be retained with a View to producing a textileweave and finish.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to thedetails of construction and to the steps of the method without departingfrom the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a valance, the combination of two end panels, a center panelhaving a chamber, two side panels having ends thereof slidably mountedin the chamber of said center panel, a support for anchoring the centerpanel to a supporting structure, brackets having jaws for receiving theinner edges of the end panels and anchoring the same to the su ortingstructure, and corner brackets having jaws, one jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of an end panel and the other jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of a side panel.

2. In a valance, the combination of two end cardboard panels, a centercardboard panel having a chamber, two side cardboard panels having endsthereof slidably mounted in the chamber of said center panel, a supportfor anchoring the center panel to a supporting structure, bracketshaving jaws for receiving the inner edges of the end panels andanchoring the same to the supporting structure, and means for securingthe adjacent edges of said end and side panels to one another.

3. In a valance, the combination of two end panels, a center panelhaving a chamber, two side panels having ends thereof slidably mountedin the chamber of said center panel, a support for anchoring the centerpanel to a supporting structure, brackets for securing the end panels tothe supporting structure, said end panels having inner crimped edges,said brackets having jaws to frictionally grip said crimped edges, andcorner brackets each securing the edge of an end panel to the edge of aside panel, the edges of the end panels and side panels so secured beingcrimped, and the corner brackets having jaws frictionally to grip saidlatter crimped edges.

4. In a valance, the combination of two end cardboard panels, a centercardboard panel having a chamber, two side cardboard panels having endsthereof slidably mounted in the chamber of said center panel, a supportfor anchoring the center panel to a supporting structure, brackets ofplastic material for securing the end panels to the supportingstructure, said end panels having inner crimped edges, said bracketshaving jaws to frictionally grip said crimped edges, and corner bracketsof plastic material each securing the edge of an end panel to the edgeof a side panel, the edges of the end panels and side panels so securedbeing crimped, and the corner brackets having jaws frictionally to gripsaid latter crimped edges.

5. In a valance, the combination of two end panels, a center panelhaving a chamber, two side panels having ends thereof slidably mountedin the chamber of said center panel, a support for anchoring the centerpanel to a supporting structure, brackets having jaws for receiving theinner edges of the end panels and anchoring the same to the supportingstructure, and corner brackets having jaws, one jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of an end panel and the other jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of a side panel, said panels being composed ofcardboard, paper cov erings secured to the outer faces of said cardboardand having ornamental designs thereon, the ornamental designs on saidpaper being embossed into the paper and cardboard support.

6. In a valance, the combination of two end panels, a center panelhaving a chamber, two side panels having ends thereof slidably mountedin the chamber of said center panel, a support for anchoring the centerpanel to a supporting structure, brackets having jaws for receiving theinner edges of the end panels and anchoring the same to the supportingstructure. and corner brackets having jaws, one jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of an end panel and the other jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of a side panel, the su port for the center panelconsisting of a U- shaped rigid bracket, one leg of said latter bracketbeing secured to the supporting structure, and a pocket on the rear faceof said center panel, the other leg of said bracket extending into saidpocket.

'7. In a valance, the combination of two end panels, a center panelhaving a chamber, two side panels having ends thereof slidably mountedin the chamber of said center panel, a support for anchoring the centerpanel to a supporting structure, brackets having jaws for receiving theinner edges of the end panels and anchoring the same to the supportingstructure, and corner brackets having jaws, one jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of an end panel and the other jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of a side panel, the support for the center panelconsisting of a U-shaped metal bracket, one leg of said bracket beingsecured to the supporting structure, and a cardboard stapled to the rearof said center panel having bracing ends and forming an interveningpocket with said center panel, the other leg of said bracket extendinginto said pocket.

8. In a valance, the combination of two end cardboard panels, a centercardboard panel having a chamber, two side cardboard panels having endsthereof slidably mounted in the chamber of said center panel, a supportfor anchoring the center panel to a supporting structure, brackets ofplastic material having jaws for receiving the inner edges of the endpanels and anchoring the same to the supporting structure, cornerbrackets of plastic material having jaws, one jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of an end panel and the other jaw of each bracketreceiving an edge of a side panel, means for securing the first namedbrackets to the supporting structure, and projections on certain of saidsecuring means to serve as limiting stops for the lower of said endpanels.

9. In a valance, the combination of two side cardboard panels and onecenter cardboard panel,

slidably connected to one another to adjust the same to windows ofdifferent widths, and means including brackets having jaws for receivingthe outer edges of the side cardboard panels to secure the same inplace.

10. In a valance, the combination of a plurality of connected carboardpanels, a paper facing secured to the outer faces of said panels, saidpaper facing having a textile weave effect in relief embossed therein,and means including brackets having jaws for receiving the edges of thepanels and cooperating with the textile weave effect in relieffrictionally to secure the panels in place.

11. In a valance, the combination of a plurality of connected cardboardpanels, a paper facing secured to the outer faces of said panels, saidpaper facing having a textile weave effect in relief embossed therein,said paper facing having an ornamentad design impressed therein whileretaining the textile weave eifect in relief, the cardboard panels withthe paper facing being to gether embossed to produce in relief theornamental design on the paper facing while retaining the textile weaveeffect in relief, and means including brackets having jaws for receivingthe edges of the panels and cooperating with the de sign in relief andthe textile weave effect in relief frictionally to secure the panels inplace.

BERNARD F. STEN Z.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 296,734 Dodge Apr. 15, 1884351,125 Priester Oct. 19, 1886 368,741 Wagenfohr Aug. 23, 1887 449,675Hake Apr. 7, 1891 1,684,843 Newmark Sept. 18, 1928 2,304,123 Rowe Dec.8, 1942 2,315,033 Adair Mar. 30. 1943

